Robert Stein (1950)

Robert Stein (1972)

Robert Stein (2000s)

About Me

editor, publisher, media critic and journalism teacher,
is a former Chairman of the American Society of Magazine Editors, and author of “Media Power: Who Is Shaping Your Picture of the World?” Before the war in Iraq, he wrote in The New York Times: “I see a generation gap in the debate over going to war in Iraq. Those of us who fought in World War II know there was no instant or easy glory in being part of 'The Greatest Generation,' just as we knew in the 1990s that stock-market booms don’t last forever.
We don’t have all the answers, but we want to spare our children and grandchildren from being slaughtered by politicians with a video-game mentality."
This is not meant to extol geezer wisdom but suggest that, even in our age of 24/7 hot flashes, something can be said for perspective.
The Web is a wide space for spreading news, but it can also be a deep well of collective memory to help us understand today’s world. In olden days, tribes kept village elders around to remind them with which foot to begin the ritual dance. Start the music.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Bachmann Does Norma Desmond

After Newt Gingrich twice accuses her of getting facts wrong, Bachmann harrumphs that “it’s outrageous to continue to say over and over through the debates that I don’t have my facts right when, as a matter of fact, I do. I am a serious candidate for president of the United States and my facts are accurate.”

(“You’re Norma Desmond, you used to be big in pictures.” “I am big, it’s the pictures that got small.”)

The former frontrunner, with wide-eyed stare, by tangling not only with Gingrich but Ron Paul as well, is reprising the refusing-to-face-reality role that has marked her five years in Congress, starting with a bit part at her first State of the Union, when she groped George W. Bush and did not let go.

A Minneapolis TV station reported that Bachmann “put her hand on Bush's shoulder. However, it wasn't just a tap. After he signed an autograph for her, Bachmann grabbed the president...

“After signing the autograph for Bachmann, the president turns away, but Bachmann doesn't let go. In fact, the video shows her reaching out to get a better grip on him.

“Bush then leans over to kiss another congresswoman, but Bachmann is still holding on. Bachmann then gets more attention, a kiss and an embrace from the president. A few seconds later, Bachmann's hand finally comes off the presidential shoulder.”

With attention slipping away, the former star is trying to hold on by dragging down everyone else in camera range.

If I were Gingrich, Romney or Ron Paul, I would stay away from swimming pools in Iowa when Bachmann is around. She’s ready for her closeup, Mr. DeMille.

Update: From Politifact: “During the Sioux City debate, Bachmann said that ‘after the debate that we had last week, PolitiFact came out and said that everything I said was true.’ That’s simply not the case. We rated two statements by Bachmann from that debate and ruled one of them Mostly True and the other one Pants on Fire. So for claiming she had a perfect record, she earns another Pants on Fire.”